Luis Arias gets a huge rankings boost after the Jarrett Hurd fight
Boxing is the one sport where you rise, fall, and rise again. The lowest point of a fighter’s career changes in an instant with just one big victory. Hence, the story of Luis “Cuba” Arias (19-2-1, 9ko) who is now within an eyeshot of a world championship after defeating former unified junior middleweight champion Jarret “Swift” Hurd.
THE HARD RISE UP TO A QUICK FALL
Arias started on a serious hot streak as a professional after having a stellar amateur career. Upon entering the professional ranks in 2012, he was signed by Hall of Fame fighter Floyd Mayweather. The Milwaukee native would accumulate a record of 18-0-1. The biggest highlight of his career is when he stopped rising middleweight prospect Arif Magomedov for the USBA middleweight title.
This was a good victory against a quality opponent. Furthermore, to score a knockout signaled it was time to step it up to the next level. On November 11, 2017, team Arias believed it was time to push towards a world championship. He would accept the IBF title eliminator against former WBA ‘regular’ champion Daniel “The Miracle Man” Jacobs.
Unfortunately, he came up extremely short as the former champion would box circles around him. Moreover, it would start a pattern of disappointing losses. He tried to bounce back, but suffered a draw against veteran Gabriel Rosado and was knocked down twice en route to an embarrassing defeat by Luke Keeler.
The loss to Keeler was costly because the winner got a shot at WBO champion Demetrius “Boo Boo” Andrade. It was perhaps the lowest point of Arias’ career, watching a guy he should have defeated get a title shot. Furthermore, he would admit that people close to him felt it was time to walk away from the sport.
A CAREER RESURRECTED
Arias was given one more chance to prove himself when former unified junior middleweight champion Jarrett “Swift” Hurd moved up and picked Arias as his tune-up fight. Understand, the majority of the boxing community, including Swift, was looking past Arias. Instead, fans were already gearing up to see the former unified champion against the unified middleweight champion, Jermell “Hit-Man” Charlo. Arias, realizing this was it for his career, took this fight very seriously, vowing fans were going to see a different fighter. Armed with new trainer Ismael Salas and a new mental perspective, they laid out a winning game plan.
When the final bell sounded, after an action-packed ten-round assault, Arias was granted a well-earned split decision victory. His demons of the past three losses were put to rest with this huge victory
The win has paid immediate dividends for Luis Arias. He is right back in the hunt for a championship as the WBA placed him in the number five slot. This is a shot in the arm his career required, and now it will be interesting to see what happens next.
By: Garrisson Bland
Be the first to comment